Carpet weaving loom

ABSTRACT

A carpet weaving loom comprises one or more tuft forming units ( 1 ), each of which is capable of supplying yarn tufts ( 26 ) of a number of different colours to a number of different weaving points sequentially. The or each of the tuft forming units ( 1 ) includes a demountable yarn carrier ( 2 ). In this way, when it is required to change the design of carpet being woven, or the creel ( 3 ) is exhausted, the or each yarn carrier ( 2 ) is simply replaced by another fed from a different creel ( 3 ). Preferably the creel ( 3 ) associated with the or each set of yarn carriers is itself removable from the remainder ( 6 ) of the loom and replaceable with the yarn carriers ( 2 ).

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

[0001] In making carpet, particularly patterned Axminster carpet, a yarntuft forming unit is used to provide yarn of a particular colour to eachweaving point of the carpet. In conventional Axminster weaving there aretwo principal ways which the yarn tuft formation is carried out. Thefirst way is on a Jacquard Axminster loom, and the second is on a spoolAxminster loom.

[0002] On a gripper Jacquard Axminster loom each weaving point includesa yarn carrier which is normally fed by eight yarns usually of differentcolour and the Jacquard mechanism moves the carrier to bring a selectedyarn to the yarn selection position. A gripper moves towards thecarrier, grips the yarn at the yarn selection position then relativemovement apart of the gripper and the carrier pulls a predeterminedlength of yarn from the carrier. The yarn is then cut to form a tuft andmoved by the gripper to the weaving point. The tuft carried by thegripper is of the appropriate colour for the tuft to be supplied to thenext row of carpet to be woven. For a conventional 12 foot (4 m) loomthere are over a 1000 weaving points across the loom and thus the creelsupplying yarn to the loom has to have the potential of carrying over8000 yarn packages. Typically, when the creel includes measuredquantities of yarn in each yarn package, an allowance of an additionaleighteen metres of yarn is provided in each yarn package. Accordinglythe greater the number of yarn packages the greater the wastage. A creelof such size occupies a substantial area and such a loom takes aconsiderable time to “thread up” as over 8000 yarn ends have to be fedthrough the creel and to the individual yarn carriers. In spite of sucha large creel size a designer of such carpets is relatively limitedsince the number of colours available for each column of tufts extendingin the warp direction of the finished carpet and corresponding to asingle weaving point is limited to only eight throughout each patternrepeat. Jacquards are also known in which the yarn carrier can holdsixteen different yarns. These require an even larger creel which takeseven longer to thread up.

[0003] Spool Axminster looms provide a designer with greaterflexibility. In spool Axminster looms a separate spool is provided foreach row of the pattern repeat and each spool has a separate yarnwinding for each weaving point along each row. Therefore, at leasttheoretically, the designer has an infinite number of colour choices foreach column and row of each pattern repeat. However, in practice, as thenumber of colour choices used for each column and row of the designincreases, the number of yarn packages needed for the spool windingoperation also increases. Further, the spool winder must be threaded updifferently for the winding of each spool which is time consuming. Whena large number of different colours are used in both the column and rowor warp and weft direction of each pattern repeat the number ofdifferent coloured yarn packages supplying the spool winder can be evenlarger than those on a creel of a typical Jacquard Axminster loom. Thepattern repeat on spool looms is limited by the number of spoolsavailable in the spool chain. Further, there is considerably greateryarn wastage from a spool Axminster loom than a gripper Axminster loombecause, on completion of a run, waste is generated from each weavingpoint of each row of the pattern repeat.

DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART

[0004] In both the Jacquard and spool Axminster looms a row of tufts fora complete row of the carpet is created simultaneously and transferredto the weaving point at which they are woven into a backing to producethe carpet. An entirely different approach to yarn selection for carpetproduction has recently been proposed in WO 95/31594. In this, it isproposed that tufts of yarn to form a row of the carpet are produced byfirst loading yarn tufts into a tuft carrier and then transferring theyarn tufts from the tuft carrier to the weaving points. To achieve thisa large number of different tuft forming units, typically one perweaving point, are provided along the length of a path with typicallyeach tuft forming unit being supplied with yarn of only a single colour.As the tuft carrier is moved along the path it receives tufts ofappropriate colour in each of its tuft holding sites. The tuft carrieris subsequently moved so that all the tufts for each row can be grippedby grippers and transferred to the weaving point simultaneously. Thus,the tufts are not usually all formed simultaneously and hence the tuftformation is, at least to some extent, decoupled from the weavingoperation. Therefore, tuft formation can take place at the same time asthe weaving operation and thus tuft formation can take placesubstantially continuously throughout the operation of the loom. This isto be contrasted with the conventional spool or gripper type looms wheretuft formation takes place over only about half of each weaving cycle.

[0005] In examples given in WO 95/31594 it is suggested that partly as aresult of forming the tufts throughout the entire weaving cycle it ispossible to, for example, increase the speed of the tuft formingoperation by four times. It is also explained that if this were possibleand it was intended to operate the loom at the same speed as aconventional loom then it would be possible to reduce the size of itscreel by a quarter since, in effect, each tuft forming unit would supplytufts for four weaving points. However, nowhere in this document does itexemplify an arrangement in which there are less yarn packages than thenumber of weaving points and so even this arrangement requires asubstantial creel and a substantial time to thread up the loom duringwhich no carpet production takes place.

[0006] In another International Patent Application No. ______ filed onthe same day as this, claiming priority from European Patent ApplicationNo. 00304081.3, and having the Attorney Reference SNR06757WO a carpetweaving loom is described which includes one or more tuft forming units,the or each of which supplies tufts to a large number of weaving points,typically a number of tens of weaving points, sequentially. A loom,particularly one for producing samples may have only a single tuftforming unit and this may supply tufts for three hundred or more weavingpoints. Typically, for carpet production the loom includes a pluralityof tuft forming units and each supplies tufts for between thirty and onehundred weaving points. With such an arrangement a great reduction inthe number of yarn packages in the creel is obtainable since thepotential number of yarn packages is that needed conventionally dividedby the number of weaving points supplied by the or each tuft formingunit so reducing it to below one hundred in some instances, whilst alsogiving the designer a greater number of colour choices in each column oftufts extending in the warp direction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] According to this invention a carpet weaving loom comprises oneor more tuft forming units, each of which is capable of supplying yarntufts of a number of different colours to a number of different weavingpoints sequentially, characterized in that the or each of the tuftforming units includes a demountable yarn carrier.

[0008] The yarn supplies for the or each demountable yarn carrier areprovided from a creel which may be fixed in position and formed in twoparts. In this case yarn from one part is threaded through guides andinto the one or more demountable yarn carriers associated with the tuftforming units on the loom. When it is required to change the design ofcarpet to be woven, or when the creel is exhausted, the or each of thedemountable yarn carriers are removed from the loom and merely replacedby different yarn carriers which are fed from yarn in the other part ofthe creel. The two parts of a fixed creel are preferably locatedside-by-side but they may also be located one behind the other.

[0009] Preferably however the or each demountable yarn carrier issupplied with yarn from a creel which is itself removable from theremainder of the loom and replaceable when the design of carpet to bewoven changes or the creel is exhausted. It may be desirable to move thecreel using equipment such as fork-lift truck but, preferably, the creelis mounted on wheels so that it can be wheeled towards and away from theremainder of the loom, typically manually. It is of course possible tosplit the creel into a number of units each of which supplies yarn toone or more of the tuft forming units but preferably the entire creel isformed as a single unit supplying the or all of the tuft forming units.

[0010] With the arrangement in accordance with this invention the yarncan be supplied to the creel and threaded through guides and into the oreach demountable yarn carrier whilst the loom, using a different set ofyarn carriers and a different creel or a different part of the creel, isweaving carpet. By being able to thread up the creel guides and yarncarriers either away from the loom or, in any event, whilst the loom isalready producing carpet, there is effectively no need for anysignificant downtime in carpet production when changing from one designof carpet to the next or when changing the creel once it is exhausted.All that is required is to remove the yarn carrier from the or each tuftforming unit and replace it by another yarn carrier or carriers whichare already threaded up with yarn from a different supply, then,immediately, the loom is once again ready to produce carpet but,typically, carpet of a different design such as a different pattern orcolour.

[0011] Preferably the creel is located behind the weaver, that is to sayit is located on the opposite side of the loom from the warp threadentry and shedding arrangements. This is unusual because in conventionalcarpet weaving looms the creel is on the same side of the loom as thewarp thread entry and shedding arrangements and so is located “behind”the loom and in front of the weaver. When the creel is located in frontof the loom, guides are preferably arranged to carry the yarns over thetop of the weaver's position. The guides may be formed by a series ofthread carrying eyes and/or all or part of the guides may be formed byconventional yarn tubes. This is particularly useful when the yarnpasses over the top of the weaving position since the tubes protect theweaver from yarn debris. When the loom includes a movable creel theguides are preferably attached to and move with the creel.

[0012] The creel may include a number of package holders each of whichsupports the bobbin of a conventional yarn package or, alternatively,the creel may include a number of individual containers or cells each ofwhich contains a length of yarn and accordingly be generally similar tothat described in our earlier specification EP-A-0058478. Preferably theyarn supplies on the creel are of a predetermined length matched tothose required for the particular design of carpet to be woven.

[0013] The or each yarn tuft forming unit preferably includes means todrive the yarn carrier into a selected one of a number of discretepositions to bring a selected yarn to a loading position, a puller forengaging the selected yarn at the loading position and pulling apredetermined length of the selected yarn from the selector wheel, and acutting mechanism to cut the selected yarn to form a tuft ofpredetermined length.

[0014] Each yarn carrier may carry yarns of different colour spacedapart in the longitudinal direction of the yarn carrier, and means todrive the yarn carrier in the longitudinal direction to select yarn of aparticular colour. Thus, the yarn carrier may be generally similar tothat used on a conventional gripper Axminster loom but, in this case, itis preferred that the yarn carrier is moved longitudinally by, forexample, a servomotor under computer control such as is described inEP-A-0785301. Preferably however, the or each tuft forming unit includesa yarn selector wheel with provision for holding a number of differentyarns arranged around it and means to move the selector wheel into aselected one of a number of angularly discrete positions. The yarns maybe arranged around the periphery of the selector wheel and extend in adirection generally parallel to its axis of rotation, but, preferablythe yarns extend generally radially to the periphery of the wheel.Typically, such a yarn selector wheel has provision for containing morethan 10 different yarns and typically 12, 16, 24 or 32 different yarns.Preferably the selector wheel is driven into and between itspredetermined angular positions by a servomotor under the control of acomputer. A particular example of such a tuft forming unit is describedin detail in a International Patent Application No. (Attorney'sreference SNR06406WO) filed on the same date as the present application,claiming priority from European Patent Application No. 00304053.2.

[0015] Preferably the or each yarn carrier is demountable from theremainder of the or each tuft forming unit without the use of tools ofany kind. The yarn carrier preferably includes engagement means whichcooperate with the means to drive the yarn carrier to ensure that theyarn carrier responds to movement of the drive means and a retainer tohold the yarn carrier in position. The retainer may be a simple press-onor snap-on fitting including, for example, a spring loaded detent tohold the yarn carrier in position. Alternatively, the retainer mayinclude a positive lock or latch operated by, for example, a lever,positively to lock the yarn carrier into position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] A particular example of a loom in accordance with this inventionwill now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings inwhich:

[0017]FIG. 1 is a partly sectioned side elevation of the loom;

[0018]FIG. 2 is a schematic isometric view of the yarn supply path of afirst example;

[0019]FIG. 3 is a schematic isometric view of the yarn supply path of asecond example;

[0020]FIG. 4 is a sectional side elevation of the main weaving part ofthe loom;

[0021]FIG. 5 is a partly sectioned view of part of the tuft formingunit;

[0022]FIG. 6 is a plan view of the selector wheel;

[0023]FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view of the tuft forming unit at thestart of the tuft forming operation;

[0024]FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view of the tuft forming unit at the endof the tuft forming operation;

[0025]FIG. 9 is a simplified front elevation of two tuft forming units;

[0026]FIG. 10 is an exploded isometric view showing a first example ofinterconnection between the yarn selector wheel and the yarn selectormotor; and

[0027]FIG. 11 is a vertical section through a second example ofinterconnection between the yarn selector wheel and the yarn selectormotor.

DESCRIPTION OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENT

[0028] A carpet weaving loom comprises one or more tuft forming units 1each of which supplies yarn tufts to a number of different weavingpoints and each of which includes a demountable yarn carrier 2, amovable creel 3 for holding supplies of yarn, and guides 4 to guide yarnfrom a supply 5 on the creel 3 to the or each yarn carrier 2, in whichthe or each demountable yarn carrier 2, creel 3 and guides 4 areremovable from the remainder of the loom 6 and replaceable when thedesign of carpet to be woven changes. The creel 3 is located in thefront of the loom and behind the weavers position 7. This is on theopposite side of the loom from the warp beam (not shown) from which thewarp threads 8 are provided. The completed carpet is collected on a roll9.

[0029] In the first example of yarn supply path the creel typicallycontains several stands 10 each containing a number of yarn packages 5.The arrangement shown in FIG. 2 shows each stand containing twelve yarnpackages 5. Yarn from each package 5 is threaded via eyes 11 to afurther guide arrangement 4 which consists of conventional yarn tubes 12as shown in FIG. 2 passing over the weaving position 7. However thesetubes 12 may be replaced by further eyes 11. Apart from containing manyfewer packages and being formed so that the creel 3 is moveable, thisexample of creel 3 is otherwise conventional in construction. As shownthe creel 3 is typically mounted on wheels 13 so that it can be movedmanually towards and away from the remainder 6 of the loom.

[0030] The second example of yarn supply is shown in FIG. 3 and is basedon the type of yarn supply creel described fully in EP-A-0058478. Inthis arrangement a number of rectangular containers 14 are arranged toform a rectangular array 15. FIG. 3 merely illustrates a simple 6×6array for the purposes of illustration but the array 15 may includemore. Each container 14 includes a premeasured length of yarn. The yarnfrom each container 14 is threaded through yarn tubes 16 and thenthrough yarn tubes 12 passing over the weavers position 7 to thedemountable yarn carriers 2. The array 15 of containers 14 may bemounted on wheels, but, in this example it is intended to be moved intoand out of position against the loom by a fork lift truck. Accordingly,its base includes feet 17 arranged to accommodate the lifting forks of afork lift truck (not shown).

[0031] The loom includes one or more tuft forming units 1, each of whichincludes a yarn selector wheel 2 which typically holds 12 or 24 yarns 20of different colour. The yarn selector wheel 2 is detachably mountedonto a yarn selector motor 21 which rotates the selector wheel 2 intoone of a number of angularly discreet positions to select yarn of apredetermined colour. As can be seen from FIG. 6 the yarns 20 ofdifferent colour are all arranged generally radially around the selectorwheel 2 in generally radially extending channels and are held in placeby springs 22. The loom includes a pair of tuft carriers 23, mounted forrotation about an axis 24 and a set of grippers 25 that are entirelyconventional in construction and use. As the tuft forming units 1traverse the loom in the forwards direction, tufts 26 are placed in tuftretention sites 27 (shown in FIG. 9) formed along the top edge of thetuft carrier 23. When all of the tuft retention sites 27 have beenloaded, the tuft carrier 23 rotates clockwise (as seen in FIG. 4) aboutthe axis 24 to move the loaded tuft carrier 23 into the lowermostposition and to move an empty tuft carrier 23 into the uppermostposition. The tuft forming units 1 then load tufts 26 into the uppermosttuft carrier 23 as they traverse backwards across the loom.

[0032] The grippers 25 move upwards, clockwise as seen in FIG. 4, withtheir beaks open and then close to grip all of the tufts 26 held by thelowermost tuft carrier 23. The grippers 25 then rotate in the oppositedirection to move the tufts 26 to the weaving point 28 where the tufts26 are woven into the carpet and the grippers 25 open to release thetufts 26. The beat up reeds and rapier weft insertion mechanism havebeen omitted from FIG. 4 for clarity but are entirely conventional andsimilar to those used on conventional gripper Axminster carpet looms.

[0033] The tuft forming unit 1 is shown in simplified form for ease ofexplanation in FIGS. 7 to 9 and provides positive handling of each yarntuft 26 during its formation and upon insertion into each tuft holdingsite 27 on yarn carrier 23. Each yarn tuft forming unit 1 includes agear box which consists of three parallel shafts 30,31,32 on which aremounted three equal sized pinions 33,34,35 which are meshed together.One of the shafts 30,31,32 is driven directly by a servomotor 36 and afurther pinion 37 as shown in FIG. 9. All three shafts 30,31,32 aredrilled to carry eccentric pins. Pin 38 is mounted in shaft 30 and isconnected to rod 39 and pin 40. Rod 39 is journalled into body 50 ofpuller 51 so that it can slide up and down as seen in FIGS. 7 and 8. Thebody 50 is pivoted at its upper end on pivot 52. Consequently, as shaft30 rotates, counterclockwise as seen in FIG. 7, the pin 38 and rod 39move up and down with respect to the body 50 and the body 50 is causedto pivot backwards and forwards about its pivot 52. The puller 51includes a pair of pivoted limbs 53,54 with jaws 55 mounted at theirlowermost ends. The upper ends of the limbs 53,54 are urged together bya spring 56 to cause the limbs to pivot and open the jaws 55. The pin 40moves up and down with respect to cam surfaces 57,58 on the limbs 52,53to urge the jaws 55 together when in its uppermost position and, in itslowermost position, allow the limbs 52,53 to respond to the bias exertedby the spring 56, to open the jaws 55.

[0034] A moveable blade 60 of a knife assembly 61 is driven up and downby a link 62 connected between the moveable blade 60 and an eccentricpin 63 mounted in the shaft 31. The rear face of the moveable knifeblade carries a pair of guide cheeks 64 which locate between the limbs52,53 when they are in their forwards position. A fixed knife blade 65includes an aperture 66 adjacent the edge of the selector wheel 2 andinto which the yarn ends protrude. An eccentric pin 70 in the thirdshaft 32 drives one end of a first order lever 71 via a link 72. Apusher 73 located at the other end of the first order lever 71 moves upand down between the guide cheeks 64.

[0035] To produce each tuft, the yarn selector motor 21 rotates theselector wheel 2 to bring the selected yarn to a location adjacent thepuller 51. The body 50 of the puller is pivoted forwards with the pin 40towards its lowermost position so that the jaws 55 are open. As theshaft 30 continues to rotate the pin 40 lifts and is moved between thecam surfaces 57,58 so closing the jaws 55 and clamping the free end ofthe selected yarn between them. Further rotation of the shaft 30 causesthe body 50 of the puller 51 to pivot backwards so pulling yarn throughthe selector wheel 2 and from the creel 3. Rotation of shaft 31 causesthe moveable blade 60 of the knife assembly 61 to move downwards. As theblade 60 moves downwards the length of yarn being pulled by the puller51 is trapped between the guide cheeks 64. Once the puller 51 has movedbackwards to its maximum extent the continued downwards movement of theknife blade 60 cuts the yarn to form a tuft 26 which is held between theguide cheeks 64 as the knife blade 60 continues to move downwards on anovertravel. Meanwhile rotation of shaft 32 causes the pusher 73 to movedownwards between the guide cheeks 64. Further rotation of shaft 30causes the pin 40 to be lowered away from the cam surfaces 56,57 so thatthe jaws 55 open under the action of the spring 56. Further rotation ofthe shaft 32 brings the pusher 73 into contact with the top of the tuft26 held between the guide cheeks 64 and continued rotation of the shaft32 causes the tuft 26 to be pushed into a tuft retention site 27 on thetuft carrier 23. Continued rotation of the shaft 31 moves the moveableknife blade 60 upwards. Meanwhile the yarn selector motor 21 moves theselector wheel 2 to bring the next yarn to be selected into position.Continued rotation of shafts 30 and 32 move the puller 51 forwards intoposition to grip the next yarn and move the pusher 73 upwards ready forthe next cycle of operation.

[0036]FIG. 10 shows one example of the demountable connection betweenthe selector wheel 2 and the yarn selector motor 21. In this example theselector motor 21 drives a shaft 80 which includes a collar 81 andfurther keyed shaft 82. It also includes a radial bore 83. A head 84 ofthe selector wheel 2 includes a female recess to accept the keyed shaft82 and also includes a radial bore 85. A generally circular leaf spring86 carries a radially extending pin 87. The spring 86 is normally fittedonto the head 84 of the selector wheel 2 with the pin 87 being insertedinto the bore 85.

[0037] To fit the selector wheel 2 onto the shaft 80 the head 84 of theselector wheel 2 is merely pushed onto the end of the keyed shaft 82 androtated until their matching key ways slide together. Then, a free end88 of the spring is raised to move the pin 87 radially outwards to allowthe head 84 to slide along the keyed shaft 82 until it comes to restagainst the collar 81. Releasing the free end 88 of the spring 86 thenallows the pin 87 to pass onto the bore 83 to lock the selector wheel 2into position on the shaft 80 of the selector wheel motor 21. To removethe selector wheel to the operator merely lifts the free end 88 of thespring 86 to disengage the pin 87 from the bore 83 and then pulls theselector wheel off the keyed shaft 82.

[0038] A second example of interconnection is shown in FIG. 11. Againthe shaft 80 of the selector wheel motor 21 includes a key 90 located ina key-way cut in the shaft 80. The shaft 80 also includes an annulargroove 91. The selector wheel 2 includes a head portion 84 having asleeve 92 which fits around the shaft and key 90. The sleeve 92 includesthree tapered apertures 93 each of which locates a ball 94. A collar 95having an internal tapered surface 96 surrounds the sleeve 92 and isurged away from the selector wheel 2 by three compression springs 97.The internal tapered surface 96 of the collar 95 contacts the outersurface of the balls 94 and urges them radially inwards so that theyengage the groove 91 in the shaft 80 of the selector motor 21. Thus, theselector wheel 2 is prevented from rotating with respect to the shaft 80by the inter-engagement of the key 90 and the key-way, and is held inplace by the balls 94 engaging in the annular groove 91.

[0039] To remove the selector wheel 2 the collar 95 is merely pusheddownwards, as shown in FIG. 11, against the bias of the springs 97,which then allows the balls 94 to move radially outwards, out the groove91, so that the head 84 of the selector wheel 2 can be simply sliddownwards off the shaft 80. Similarly, to replace the selector wheel 2the head is simply rotated until the key 90 and key way are aligned andthen the head 2 is simply pushed upwards into position, whilst holdingthe collar 95 depressed against the bias of the springs 97. Uponreleasing the pressure on the collar 95 the springs 97 urge the collar95 upwards and this, in turn, urges the balls 94 radially inwards sothat they lock into the annular groove 91.

1. A carpet weaving loom comprising one or more tuft forming units (1),each of which is capable of supplying yarn tufts (26) to a number ofdifferent colours to a number of different weaving points sequentially,characterized in that the or each of the tuft forming units (1) includesa demountable yarn carrier (2).
 2. A carpet weaving loom according toclaim 1, in which the yarn supplies for the or each demountable yarncarrier (2) are provided from a creel (3) which is fixed in position andformed in two parts; yarn from one part being threaded through guidesand into all of the one or more demountable yarn carriers (2) associatedwith the tuft forming units (1) on the loom, so enabling the or each ofthe demountable yarn carriers (2) to be removed from the loom andreplaced by different yarn carriers (2) which are all fed from yarn inthe other part of the creel (3), when it is required to change thedesign of carpet to be woven, or when the creel (3) is exhausted.
 3. Acarpet weaving loom according to claim 1, in which the or eachdemountable yarn carrier (2) is supplied with yarn from a creel (3)which is itself removable from the remainder of the loom and replaceablewhen the design of carpet to be woven changes or the creel (3) isexhausted.
 4. A carpet weaving loom according to claim 3, in which thecreel (3) is mounted on wheels (13) so that it can be wheeled towardsthe way from the remainder of the loom, typically manually.
 5. A carpetweaving loom according to claim 3 or 4, in which guides (4) attached toand moving with the creel (3) are provided to guide the yarn from thecreel (3) to the or each demountable yarn carrier (2).
 6. A carpetweaving loom according to any one of the preceding claims, in which thecreel (3) is located behind the weaver (7) and on the opposite side ofthe loom from the warp thread entry (8) and shedding arrangements.
 7. Acarpet weaving loom according to claim 6, in which guides (4) carry theyarns over the top of the weaver's position (7), and the guides areformed by a series of yarn tubes (12).
 8. A carpet weaving loomaccording to any one of the preceding claims, in which includes a numberof package holders each of which supports the bobbin (5) of aconventional yarn package or, alternatively, the creel includes a numberof individual containers or cells (14) each of which contains a lengthof yarn.
 9. A carpet weaving loom, according to any one of the precedingclaims, in which the yarn supplies on the creel (3) are all of apredetermined length and matched to those required for the particulardesign of carpet to be woven.
 10. A carpet weaving loom according to anyone of the preceding claims, in which the or each yarn tuft forming unit(1) includes means (21) to drive the yarn carrier (2) into a selectedone of a number of discrete positions to bring a selected yarn (20) to aloading position, a puller (51) for engaging the selected yarn (20) atthe loading position and pulling a predetermined length of the selectedyarn (20) from the selector wheel (2), and a cutting mechanism (61) tocut the selected yarn (20) to form a tuft (26) of predetermined length.11. A carpet weaving loom according to any one of the preceding claims,in which the or each yarn carrier (2) is demountable from the remainderof the or each tuft forming unit (1) without the use of tools of anykind.
 12. A carpet weaving loom according to claim 11, in which the yarncarrier (2) includes engagement means (82,90) which cooperate with themeans (21) to drive the yarn carrier (2) to ensure that the yarn carrierresponds to movement of the drive means (21) and a retainer(83,87,91,94) to hold the yarn carrier (2) in position.
 13. A carpetweaving loom according to claim 12, in which the retainer is a simplepress-on or snap-on fitting or, alternatively, the retainer includes apositive lock or latch operable to lock the yarn carrier into position.